Biography

Retrieved from MTV.com

Cara Maria dances to the beat of her own drum. A dark beauty with skull beads in her hair, she admits to liking "dirty bad boys." But don't judge this book by its outlandish cover... Cara Maria has a psychology degree, a 3.8 GPA, and usually skips the partying. She has a sweet disposition, but it's balanced by a mean temper and a tendency to say things she regrets. Cara Maria is also an avid horse rider, and claims it works all of the muscles. She'll certainly need every one of them primed and ready for her Challenge debut!

Cara Maria is back with a lot to prove after being eliminated first with partner Darrell during Fresh Meat II. Since her defeat, Cara Maria has zeroed in on her flaws, offering, "I can say that one of my weaknesses is my brain. Physically, I can do anything, but mentally, I can defeat myself better than anybody else can." Unique to her core, this dark and kinky beauty doesn't always rub people the right way -- especially othergirls. And when Cara Maria cuddles up to one of the game's best players, look for sparks to fly!

The last time we saw emo-beauty Cara Maria, she was finding love with teammate Abram, while fighting her way to the finals of Cutthroat. A proud only child, Cara Maria boogies to her own beat as can be seen from her outlandish fashion sense, and pirate-chiq hairstyle. Some have accused this avid horse-rider of being a weak player who rides on the coattails of others. But this time around she's being paired with a no-nonsense teammate who will not tolerate a slacker for a partner. Will Cara Maria show enough fire to appease her domineering partner?

Odd birds of a feather, Abram and Cara Maria first fell in love on Cutthroat. But after an intoxicated Abram had a heavily publicized run-in with the police, Cara Maria decided to call it quits. The couple has since reconciled but their on-again, off-again relationship is anything but reliable. Abram complains, "Cara Maria is like a cat. When you try to chase a cat it just runs away and then you turn around and go sit down and the cat shows back up at your leg." Cara Maria, for her part, worries about Abram's often fiery temper. She confesses, "He's so passionate and so intense that sometimes you just need to get away. He's just got an animal inside him." Will the Battle of the Exes lead the couple to finally fully commit, or will the pressure of the game tear them apart for good?

Our seven Real World teams got a rude awakening when Team Fresh Meat arrived as the "surprise" team on Battle of the Seasons. Brandon, Camila, Eric, and Cara Maria bring toughness and experience to the table, but could their late entrance to the game be a disadvantage? As Cara Maria explains, "Being the surprise team, all it does is single us out, there is nothing good about it." Camila arrives in Turkey fresh off her victory in Battle of the Exes, while Eric went a long way toward shedding his "Big Easy" nickname, losing 70 lbs since his last Challenge appearance. "People wanted to use my size against me and let's just see what people want to say about me now," he boasts. Armed with newfound confidence, Eric unexpectedly finds love with one of the game's biggest divas. Rounding out the team is two-time finalist Cara Maria and veteran Brandon, who hopes to redeem himself after making an early exit on Rivals. "For whatever reason, I always get the short end of the stick when it comes to a team or a partner. I'm back to try to prove that I can lead a team to a Final," Brandon declares. Will Fresh Meat's social game measure up to their muscle? Or will drama derail this dysfunctional bunch?

After three runner-up finishes, Cara Maria is ready to stop being an underdog and take her rightful place as a legitimate threat to win. Cara Maria arrives in Uruguay in the best shape of her life, but believes her mental outlook is keeping her from taking first place. She elaborates, "I know physically I can do anything, but mentally I second-guess myself. It's almost like I’m afraid to win." Pegged as an oddball, Cara Maria yearns to break free of the social awkwardness that has plagued her in the past. Is Free Agents finally Cara Maria's time to shine? Or will her unlucky streak continue?

Having never obtained a Challenge victory, fireball Cara Maria is more determined than ever to take home a win. This time around, Cara Maria is bringing her tank-sized cousin, Jamie, to help crush the competition. Counting on Jamie's experience as a corrections officer to keep their unruly competitors in check, Cara Maria explains, "He's used to dealing with nut bags in the correctional facility and so I feel like he'll be great here. If anything sketchy goes on around here, he'll just zone right in on it and know what's up." However, it is Cara Maria that Jamie needs to keep an eye on when she starts playing with fire by making dangerous moves on and off the field.

After taking a well-deserved break back home to Montana following her triumphant win on Battle of the Bloodlines, rebel Cara Maria is back and more fired up than ever. During her break, Cara Maria didn't let up with her fierce training: she is typically hiking or rafting, horseback riding, or in the gym as a cardio kickboxing trainer. Cara Maria considers herself single after ending her six-year, tumultuous relationship with crazed fellow Challenger Abram. Being back on the market, she may attract the attention of a strong rookie player. Keenly aware that she is a controversial competitor, Cara Maria proclaims, "I don't care about the haters. I want to do well for everybody that believes in me, I know that I'm strong." Will Cara Maria be able to keep her head in the game and blaze another trail to victory? Or will she play with fire and watch her chances of another Challenge win go up in smoke?

Cara Maria is an all-around savvy competitor who knows the ins and outs of the political game. While on Cutthroat, the Battle of the Bloodlines winner leveraged her relationship status with Abram to swing votes in a nomination (subsequently saving her from elimination). She played the political game once again in Free Agents when she convinced another team to send Bananas into elimination. Cara Maria isn't afraid to stoop low -- she’s even used fake tears to get what she wants. What dirty behavior will she pull this time around?

With 11 seasons on her resume, Cara Maria is an obvious threat. However, her admirable second place finish on Dirty 30 came at the cost of making a few vendettas along the way. After being blindsided by Kailah and blasted on social media by Marie, Cara must now hope that her strengths on the battlefield will keep her out of eliminations. Will CM be able to keep mum long enough to keep the target off of her? Or will she have to add to her already impressive elimination record and fight her way to another Challenge final?

These two have been at each other's throats for years, starting on The Challenge: Dirty 30 when Marie actively campaigned against Cara Maria, seeing her as one of her biggest threats. On The Challenge: Vendettas, they tried but failed to work together, and things didn't improve when Cara Maria also stole Kyle away from Marie. Not content to keep it on the show, they continued their bitter rivalry on Twitter, where they traded jabs continuously. Now these two mortal enemies are going to have to figure out how to work together, but don’t expect it to be smooth.

Cooke's original partner, Naomi, withdrew from the game prior to the first Jungle due to a family emergency back home. Cara Maria was brought in as Cooke's replacement partner prior to the "XXX Games" challenge.